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Subject: W.W. Morgan: His parents; siblings; emigration; Am. Fur Co.; Knox; Bloody Kansas; Bartlett; Fremont Co. sheriff, lawyer, mayor
Date: 11 Jan 2005 13:05:54 -0700

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Surnames: Morgan, Webber, Shattuck, Whitehead, Eagan, Booth, Simons, Whiting, Baldwin, Aitken, Keyser, Marvin, Percival
Classification: Biography

Message Board URL:

http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/ok.2ADE/3572

Message Board Post:

THE FREMONT COUNTY HERALD. March 30, 1906. "MANY YEARS OF USEFULNESS. Major W. W. Morgan Today Observes the 74th Anniversary of His Birth".--William W. Morgan was born March 30, 1832 in Weathersfield, Windsor county Vermont, and is the son of William R. and Laura (Webber) Morgan, whose parents were of Welch descent and natives of Connecticut from which state they emigrated to Vermont about the close of the war for independence.

They were Puritans of the strictest type and believed in the old blue laws and taught their children to obey said laws and customs and his parents enforced it on their children until they moved west when they soon fell in with western ways and the old blue laws were soon forgotten and the younger children in the family were permitted more liberty and were not so exacting and tyrannical in many things as they had been in the east.

His father was greatly interested in military affairs and was commissioned colonel of the 2nd Vermont militia by Gov. Jennings about 1835 during the trouble with Canada, but saw no active service, the trouble being peaceably settled.

In 1846 he concluded to try his future in the west, settled up his business and engaged teams to haul his family and goods to Troy, New York, from there they took the Erie canal to Buffalo, and from Buffalo they took steamer for Toledo thence by canal to Peru, Indiana, the end of their journey, and ten miles north of Peru the eldest Morgan purchased a tract of land and began the work of clearing the heavy timber so that cultivation could be done. In a short time he sold out and moved to McLean county, Illinois, and located at Twin Grove, six miles west of Bloomington, where he died in 1863, and his wife departed this life in 1885.

The Civil War is now in progress and two brothers of the subject of this sketch enlisted in the 94th Illinois infantry. Cutler D. returned from the war but Charles S. died at Pilot Knob, Missouri, from an attack of measles in 1863. Of a family of nine children they have all passed away except Mrs. Rosaline A. Shattuck of Maquoketa, Iowa, who has passed her 82nd birthday, and William W. Morgan of Sidney.

The year 1849 found young Morgan taking his leave of the parental home with a view of going to California, but circumstances change decisions and he engaged as a teamster to pilot six yoke of oxen across Nebraska to Green River, Wyoming, for the American Fur company and in this capacity he visited several forts then in the Far West and saw much of Indian life. In the fall of 1854 he quit the plains and went to Doniphan county, Kan., where he worked for C. B. Whitehead, brother of Capt. Whitehead, who in the early eays of Fremont county lived at what is known as the Knox Spring, a mile south of the village of Knox. He took a claim in Doniphan county and held it until the Kansas slavery was so bad that in 1856 he traded the land for two yoke of oxen and then sold the oxen for $75 per yoke and bought a pony, but the next year (1857) the land sold for $7000.

While in Kansas Mr. Morgan was member of the Doniphan Blues, an order favoring slavery and was sent on several expeditions through the neighborhod in behalf of pro-slavery and was present at the arrest of Col. Warren at Atchison in 1855. He was not in sympathy with the pro-slavery movement, but while in Rome he was almost compelled to do as the Romans did.

He was at St. Joe, Mo., when the Kansas-Nebraska convention was held for the purpose of petitioning congress for admission as territories into the union. Here the narrator gave several accounts of the border warfare then going on in Kansas and of the dangers of life incident thereto.

The Civil War being in progress and the Sioux Indians waging a bloody war upon the settlers of Minnesota, Mr. Morgan enlisted in the 2nd Nebraska cavalry under Gen. Sully and his regiment was sent north to punish the Sioux which the Nebraskans did at White Stone Hills, North Dakota. The close of the Indian war also closed his miltary career and he returned home to care for this family and enjoy the pleasure of peace in Richardson county, Neb., but shortly afterward was chosen first assistant clerk in the Territorial Council of Nebraska held in 1864 - 65 at Omaha which was then the capital of Nebraska.

The K. C. railroad was being built in 1865 and Bartlett, in the extreme northwest corner of Fremont county, was the terminus and also the village was the station for the coach line from Sidney to meet the trains from Council Bluffs. Bartlett was looked forward to as the coming city and where fortunes could easily be made in real estate, mercantile business or the professions. Mr. Morgan came, bought a home and while waiting developments for the fortunes to be realized, he was elected justice of the peace and heard many trials, the one of the shooting of Bill Eagan being the most noted. Eagan partially recovered from the wound and one day stepped into Morgan's office to kill the dispenser of the law, but his honor spoke to him so politely and kindly that the murderous heart softened and the would be assissin left the room without making his errand known, but later told Mr. Morgan of his intent.

Here Mr. Morgan discussed at some length the events of the early days of Bartlett and incidentally spoke of George Booth starting the first store; F. T. Simons, now of Riverton, being employed by Phelps, the railroad contractor; Dr. Whiting, who practiced medicine there for several years before locating at Shenandoah; B. M. Baldwin, who owned a farm near the village; and David Aitken who still resides near town. Political meetings were frequent, were held in the depot and the spirit of patriotism ran high--especially when the large number of section men would take part--in modern usage it would be called might against right; Kit Keyser, who arrested the Jew from Nebraska City, near where Percival now stands, and brought him to Bartlett for trial. The prisoner was charged with selling whiskey and the court fined him $20, which took all the change the Hebrew had.

In the fall of 1869 Mr. Morgan was the democratic candidate for sheriff of Fremont county against his republican opponent, Rufus Marvin, and the official count gave a majority of nine votes to Morgan. In the capacity of sheriff he served eight years and met with many experiences of an unpleasant and dangerous character, as for several years after the war the county was visited by persons who were ready to commit any depredation. He found the jail in a dilapidated state but succeeded in keeping his prisoners here by using the utmost vigilance.

He was admitted to the bar in 1878 and formed a partnership with Robert Percival which lasted for seven years.

He edited the Fremont Democrat for several years, was mayor of Sidney eight terms, is a Charter Mason and past commander of Joe Ross Post, Grand Army of the Republic.

Mr. Morgan now lives practically a retired life but reads extensively and can be seen most any day on the streets conversing with his many friends who will be informed by reading this imperfect sketch that he is 74 years of age today.

N.B.: A picture of Major W. W. Morgan accompanies this article.--W.F.

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